Type R and VTEC owners

[Gibbo]

What do people think of these two:


https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...tising-location=at_cars&sort=price-asc&page=4

Looked at this one tonight, last of cable throttle and validated mileage and FSH and seems genuine car just feel its not spot on and a bit over priced, test driving tomorrow as local. Think its more an 11k car though money wise.


https://www.junction17cars.co.uk/stock/11074772-honda-s2000-2.0-i-vtec-roadster-2dr/#page-wrap

Heard rumours 2009 models are ones to avoid, more risk of engine failure? Otherwise seems nice from a reputable dealer.

 

[-Ad-]

Heard bad things about J17 cars years ago.

Buy on condition with these!

 

[Dominic-Toretto]

Don't buy from Junction 17 as above, have some awful reviews all over the web.

 

[2004typer]

Let me know what you think of them. Everyone has a different opinion on tyres.

Hi mate put a post on about the tyres, 14798 - should have quoted you in.

 

[Supernova]

What do people think of these two:


https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201912034971861?onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&postcode=st87hf&model=S2000&radius=1500&make=HONDA&advertising-location=at_cars&sort=price-asc&page=4

Looked at this one tonight, last of cable throttle and validated mileage and FSH and seems genuine car just feel its not spot on and a bit over priced, test driving tomorrow as local. Think its more an 11k car though money wise.


https://www.junction17cars.co.uk/stock/11074772-honda-s2000-2.0-i-vtec-roadster-2dr/#page-wrap

Heard rumours 2009 models are ones to avoid, more risk of engine failure? Otherwise seems nice from a reputable dealer.

Hi Gibbo, if you are still looking at S2000s around the £20k area...

https://www.chiswickhonda.co.uk/used-cars/10888395-honda-s2000-gt-100-number-2-very-rare/

Approved used S2000s are almost unheard of these days. It's been for sale for at least 2 months, and it was originally £26000, and has been reduced in price twice now (previously £24000). I think it's not worth as much as they're asking. You might get it for £19k.

I've been keeping an eye on it because I spotted it when searching for the S2000 I just bought a few weeks ago (my 2nd).
Good luck with the search!

Edit: Oh and the reason I didn't buy it is because my budget was only £10000! I got lucky and jumped on a fantastic 2005 GT in Silverstone (still has it's hardtop unlike some) as soon as it was put up for sale a week before Christmas 2019. So I was able to negotiate a nice deal on that one (£9000)

That black S2000 above... That's not a full service history with only 11 stamps. Typical 2nd hand car dealer... It should have had 14 or 15 services now. Yes I also don't think it's worth what they're asking, even if the condition is perfect.

 

[MrM]

Gibbo, re 2009 models, there were a number of cars with engine failures coming from 2009 which lead many to be cautious about purchasing them, especially being in the backdrop of the engine being particularly reliable.

I sold my 05 Moonrock GT 2 years ago after 13 years of ownership. Will have been done to death but you want to find a square car that has history of geometry being done, else budget for some remedial work if bushes seized. Rust is now an issue, crap can collect under the arch rubber trim and cause spots. Watch for leaks in the boot, mine never suffered but seems a common complaint. Soft top wear isn’t inevitable but common if kept outside with no cover, but of a pain to replace and to find someone who can do a good job by all accounts.

I had a hard too but barely used the car with it on. Kind of defeats the point and it’s a 2 man job to take on and off unless you have very long and strong arms. My hardtop never have as good a seal as the soft top so didn’t offer any sound benefits.

I did some subtle convenience mods to mine. Added heated seats and a fleece roof liner. You’d be amazed at how much more comfortable these made the car. My last word is on headlights. I needed to replace my front two (long story) and they weren’t cheap. Not much change from £1k per unit, so worth making sure any example doesn’t have an issue.

Mine had OEM front lip and low level rear spoiler. Added a bit of stance in my opinion but realise might not be for everyone.

I was a member of S2KI and whilst it’s quietened down considerably over the time I owned the car, it’s an invaluable source of knowledge.

Good luck on finding a tidy one.

 

[Gibbo]

Hi Gibbo, if you are still looking at S2000s around the £20k area...

https://www.chiswickhonda.co.uk/used-cars/10888395-honda-s2000-gt-100-number-2-very-rare/

Approved used S2000s are almost unheard of these days. It's been for sale for at least 2 months, and it was originally £26000, and has been reduced in price twice now (previously £24000). I think it's not worth as much as they're asking. You might get it for £19k.

I've been keeping an eye on it because I spotted it when searching for the S2000 I just bought a few weeks ago (my 2nd).
Good luck with the search!

Edit: Oh and the reason I didn't buy it is because my budget was only £10000! I got lucky and jumped on a fantastic 2005 GT in Silverstone (still has it's hardtop unlike some) as soon as it was put up for sale a week before Christmas 2019. So I was able to negotiate a nice deal on that one (£9000)

That black S2000 above... That's not a full service history with only 11 stamps. Typical 2nd hand car dealer... It should have had 14 or 15 services now. Yes I also don't think it's worth what they're asking, even if the condition is perfect.

Drove black one and as always they just hand the keys over and send you on your way they are so laid back.

They put near half a tank petrol in and so me and Mrs went for a good VTEC YO blast with roof down, roof up, took it on my favourite roads and spent around 80 minutes in the car on fast roads, dual carriageway and stop start traffic.

Mechanically it seems excellent car drives really nice and is pretty much rattle and squeak free even with roof up.

We all know an S2000 is not fastest car but we were smiling and giggling a lot that is the effect of a great engine and I may have pulled over and pulled the air box lid to hear the VTEC roar.




So to drive it seemed spot on gearbox and clutch was an absolute joy, easily best manual gear box I’ve ever used!

Car handled nice and compared to me 99 car did indeed seem far more progressive certainly not snappy on limit.

It strikes me as an honest none enthusiast owned car as in its mechanically good and body work is rust free but at same time it needs TLC as heavy swirling and some minor scratches and the red paint on engine is flaking off and there is an area on roof that has being patched repair, small but I spotted it. Of course no idea on GEO but my bets are it shall be seized.

As such decent honest car but £12,800 too much I’d say it’s more an £11,500 car based on it not being immaculate but nice that it’s not been messed with and has pretty much full service history which is nearly all Honda.

Found some others private owned that similar money but seem much cleaner as enthusiast owned, found a grey moonrock on FB at £13,500 that looks spotless 07 with 49k miles and he has agreed 13k but about 150 miles away so bit hard to view but there are good cars out there. Also found another red totally honest car that’s an 06 with 46k and two owners but not enthusiast so no doubt seized on geo and they want 13.5k too.


P.S. How many miles on the 05 you paid 9k for please?

 

[Supernova]

We all know an S2000 is not fastest car but we were smiling and giggling a lot that is the effect of a great engine and I may have pulled over and pulled the air box lid to hear the VTEC roar.

So to drive it seemed spot on gearbox and clutch was an absolute joy, easily best manual gear box I’ve ever used!

Car handled nice and compared to me 99 car did indeed seem far more progressive certainly not snappy on limit.

It strikes me as an honest none enthusiast owned car as in its mechanically good and body work is rust free but at same time it needs TLC as heavy swirling and some minor scratches and the red paint on engine is flaking off and there is an area on roof that has being patched repair, small but I spotted it. Of course no idea on GEO but my bets are it shall be seized.

As such decent honest car but £12,800 too much I’d say it’s more an £11,500 car based on it not being immaculate but nice that it’s not been messed with and has pretty much full service history which is nearly all Honda.

P.S. How many miles on the 05 you paid 9k for please?

Yep, they are such fun cars even if they're not rocket ships. For me it's a fun car that doesn't do the daily grind, and the ownership experience is a big thing for me. I take it you haven't bought it yet?

My car is 87k miles so partly reflects the £9k price, but servicing has been done every year even with it covering just 1000-2000 miles per year for the last 7 years. I will only be putting 1000 ish on it each year as well so mileage was less of a factor for future value. Other cars will overtake mine in mileage.

The old saying "condition over mileage" came into play with this car. It was one of the seller's 4 cars and it was driven in dry weather only. It was stored in a heated garage 24/7 and the previous owner before that garaged it too. Both were friends and in their 60s. So it was really looked after.

 

[Lopéz]

The red paint flaking off the cam cover is par for the course on pretty much every Type R engine unfortunately.

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there

found this one at Honda:
https://www.jthughes.co.uk/Used+Cars/View/HONDA-S2000-16V-1997cc/11377575-f096-49d2-8ede-4b2a34965bdf


All I dislike is no two tone interior and I’m not much for those alloys but I’m guessing the 04 allows will just bolt up?

 

[Supernova]

Hi there

found this one at Honda:
https://www.jthughes.co.uk/Used+Car...V-1997cc/11377575-f096-49d2-8ede-4b2a34965bdf


All I dislike is no two tone interior and I’m not much for those alloys but I’m guessing the 04 allows will just bolt up?

Pretty sure they do yes. Agreed about the 5 spokes from 2008 onwards. They're not as bad as 2007 wheels though. God knows what Honda were thinking by switching from the 2004-2006 wheels!

 

[Gibbo]

Pretty sure they do yes. Agreed about the 5 spokes from 2008 onwards. They're not as bad as 2007 wheels though. God knows what Honda were thinking by switching from the 2004-2006 wheels!

Is there any advantage of an 08 over an 06/07 VSA equipped car?

I heard they had another suspension update but unsure on whether its just internet myth or reality, Honda rang me this morning so will probably test drive the car tomorrow, I feel its a little over priced, would value it at maybe arounc £13,500 what do others think?

 

[Supernova]

Is there any advantage of an 08 over an 06/07 VSA equipped car?

I heard they had another suspension update but unsure on whether its just internet myth or reality, Honda rang me this morning so will probably test drive the car tomorrow, I feel its a little over priced, would value it at maybe arounc £13,500 what do others think?

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/introductions-21/changes-between-2006-7-2008-cr-525439/

Consensus from the UK S2000 members over there on s2ki is this is the best reference available. No one is quite sure if this applies to UK cars but it's the best information anyone has.

WRT the value of that car - I've been monitoring the market since October in the run up to buying mine, and I've seen the same cars on sale for absolutely ages. For example, most of the cars on Autotrader at the moment have been there since early December. It's a buyer's market at the moment. Plenty of choice at your budget, so I think you can be pushy on prices. Down at my budget area, it was much slimmer pickings for decent cars. But it's still early in the year, and the weather is absolutely shocking, so people are generally not thinking about buying convertibles yet.

The other thing is that one you're looking at is not coming up on Autotrader and Honda's main website, so hardly anyone is going to find it. They can't have had much interest. What they've priced it at is fair I'd say but they can only say no. If you got that for £13500 it would be a good deal.

 

[Gibbo]

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/introductions-21/changes-between-2006-7-2008-cr-525439/

Consensus from the UK S2000 members over there on s2ki is this is the best reference available. No one is quite sure if this applies to UK cars but it's the best information anyone has.

WRT the value of that car - I've been monitoring the market since October in the run up to buying mine, and I've seen the same cars on sale for absolutely ages. For example, most of the cars on Autotrader at the moment have been there since early December. It's a buyer's market at the moment. Plenty of choice at your budget, so I think you can be pushy on prices. Down at my budget area, it was much slimmer pickings for decent cars. But it's still early in the year, and the weather is absolutely shocking, so people are generally not thinking about buying convertibles yet.

The other thing is that one you're looking at is not coming up on Autotrader and Honda's main website, so hardly anyone is going to find it. They can't have had much interest. What they've priced it at is fair I'd say but they can only say no. If you got that for £13500 it would be a good deal.

Yeah being working them on the price.
I like the fact it is an 08 car for the fact it has very latest suspension tweaks which I believe were supposed to the best handling and riding car. Also nice it has VSA as standard.

But I've read the crank float engine issue is not just 09 cars but also effect 08 cars, but what I've read is it was an issue that would show itself quite early on in a cars life, for example sub 10,000 miles, as the example I am checking out has 50,000 miles can I assume the car likely does not have the issue?

Probably going to test drive it tomorrow.

 

[grudas]

I still stand by 2004-06 being the best car to buy.

Don't see why you'd need traction, it is a pain at best from people I know who have them.

unless it's your other half who will drive this? I did pay just under 15k for 27k mile 04 in great condition over a year ago just for reference.

they're not as snappy as people say but you just got to keep in mind where vtec point is as I believe that's what catches most out mid corner, roundabouts etc.

 

[Gibbo]

I still stand by 2004-06 being the best car to buy.

Don't see why you'd need traction, it is a pain at best from people I know who have them.

unless it's your other half who will drive this? I did pay just under 15k for 27k mile 04 in great condition over a year ago just for reference.

they're not as snappy as people say but you just got to keep in mind where vtec point is as I believe that's what catches most out mid corner, roundabouts etc.

The 05 I drove, had no VSA and as they just handed me the keys I did put it sideways on a roundabout, it seemed progressive at the limit, far more so than I remember my 99 being, it was running RE050A tyres if I remember with nearside wear outer worn to wear marker.

I want VSA because my other half shall drive the car and the very reason I crashed my own S2000 all those years back was because I was not even trying to push the car but was accelerating in 3rd gear up a curved slip road and I was relaxed and needless to say it crossed into VTEC and it caught me out and I had to abandon the epic slide and put the car into a spin before I joined dual carriage way, it spun 180 degrees and smashed rear bumper and rear light, so I got lucky as minor panel damage and was insurance repaired. Now maybe this is less likely to happen on a good 05/06 car but at same time having that safety net for myself and the other half is not a bad thing.

You found a good car for sure with only 27k mile on clock, it does seem the sub 30k car are now 17k plus area.

 

[Supernova]

Yeah being working them on the price.
I like the fact it is an 08 car for the fact it has very latest suspension tweaks which I believe were supposed to the best handling and riding car. Also nice it has VSA as standard.

But I've read the crank float engine issue is not just 09 cars but also effect 08 cars, but what I've read is it was an issue that would show itself quite early on in a cars life, for example sub 10,000 miles, as the example I am checking out has 50,000 miles can I assume the car likely does not have the issue?

Probably going to test drive it tomorrow.

Sorry, I'm not too familiar with the engine issues on later cars. The answer will probably be on S2ki somewhere though, in the UK section.

Not sure if you're aware but cars with VSA also have drive by wire throttle rather than a cable. So you lose some response, and there's more complex electronics to deal with if something breaks.

Agree with grudas that the cars are not as lively as people say. You'd have to be driving pretty stupidly on the road to get a 2004-2006 car to just snap oversteer. Or rubbish tyres.

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there

Honda sent me an engine bay picture, some of the paint has flaked but other than that and some hose clips and air box clips looking a bit corroded I am not seeing anything untoward:





How does that look too others?

It is clear it has not being enthusiast owned, the car was original owned by the dealership selling it now, who then sold the car to a family relation to the MD of the dealership, so it was Honda's demo car (this dealership) and then sold to a family member. As such it looks basically like an honest car but not enthusiast owned hence it not been as well kept below.

I've mentioned about seized geo and they have said if a deal was to be made they would have the car sent to a 3rd party alignment shop to check everything still adjust as it should, other than that it looks an honest car.

I do agree with others though and would say a great price on this is £13,500 and a fair price £14,000, it is a little over priced I feel at £14,795..........

 

[ChrisD.]

That bay looks worse than mine did. Cost me about £100 or so to get new fittings and bolts and to tidy it all up. I would however be concerned about corrosion around the rear arches on the car, can you ask for pictures underneath and the sills etc?

 

[Gibbo]

That bay looks worse than mine did. Cost me about £100 or so to get new fittings and bolts and to tidy it all up. I would however be concerned about corrosion around the rear arches on the car, can you ask for pictures underneath and the sills etc?

Yes I am aware of rearch arch issues the car have due to rubber strip trapping water, I shall be thoroughly inspecting those areas visually when I inspect the car.